Regulatory Review – May and June 2026
This digest provides an overview of some of the latest regulatory news announcements of interest to the SETAC community. Please send your suggestions to [email protected].
Australian Government
John Bradley was appointed as the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of Australia’s first National Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The National EPA, set to launch on 1 July, is the cornerstone of the Australian Government’s landmark environmental law reforms, which will better protect our precious environment while powering productivity.
European Commission
The European Commission launched two calls for evidence on the future ocean and water research and innovation strategy. The calls for evidence are open until 2 August on the commission’s “Have Your Say” portal.
European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
ECHA published a report in June, “Key Areas of Regulatory Challenge,” identifying research areas where further regulatory scientific research is needed to enhance protection of human health and the environment and strengthen chemicals safety.
ECHA launched the Chesar Platform for conducting and reporting chemical risk assessments. The initial release supports both REACH and biocides users.
European Union Agencies Network on Scientific Advice (EU‑ANSA)
EU‑ANSA reaffirmed the central role of EU agencies in supporting research and translating scientific knowledge into evidence‑based policymaking, through a joint statement. EU‑ANSA welcomed the proposed Horizon Europe 2028–2034 program and calls for the proactive involvement of EU agencies in future research programming.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
EFSA issued an updated risk assessment for dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in feed and food. EFSA updated its 2018 assessment to use the World Health Organization’s 2022 revision of toxicity equivalency factors (TEFs). Using the updated 2022 WHO TEFs, EFSA set a new tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of 0.6 picograms per kilogram body weight per week for combined exposure to dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs – three times lower than the TWI established in 2018 using the previous WHO TEFs from 2005.
United States
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi signed an internal memo to top USEPA officials shuttering the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program on 27 April, ordering its regulatory offices to review and potentially reverse actions based on its hazard findings, a move that would effectively dismantle the agency’s central chemical risk assessment program.
U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska introduced the Sound Science Act, legislation that would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), on 27 April.
U.S. President Donald Trump fired all 22 members of the National Science Board (NSB), the body that oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF), on 29 April.
USEPA announced cuts to Biden-era hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) refrigerant rules on 21 May.
USEPA issued changes to some previously established PFAS values on 22 May.
The White House Office of Management and Budget proposed a new rule, “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance” on 28 May. The more than 400-page draft rule gives political appointees final approval on research grants and “denies grantees access to publication fees, conference attendance, professional memberships, international collaborations, providing grant termination for convenience, and eliminating merit-based review as the underpinning of the system,” among many other provisions detrimental to scientific research and scholarly societies in the United States. Comments are open until 13 July through the Regulations.gov docket OMB-2026-0034.
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